It's Conference Time, Everybody!

Just finished my last editing project of September, and I'll soon be diving into my HUGE stack of advance submissions for the Southern California Writers Conference—and I'm filled with anticipatory glee.
Why? Because this weekend is fun!
I always have a great time at this conference—I get to both learn and teach, which I love. This weekend, I'm teaching a new workshop called “Backstory: Employing Expository like a Screenwriter,” plus doing "Pitch Witches" and much more. SCWC inspires me to be at the top of my game, because everyone else there is!
If you haven't been to a writers conference before, you're probably wondering, "Why should I go to SCWC?"
The biggest/best reason is to connect with a community of writers—and readers (because all writers are readers, no?). Writing is often solitary so we need to meet and talk to others in our "tribe"—to hear people talk about going through the same things we go through; to learn from their mistakes, and to gain insight from their successes.
Of course, you'll also meet and get to chat with agents, editors, and publishers—not to mention people who are successful author-publishers.
The world of publishing is evolving fast, and it's important for aspiring (and published) authors to keep evolving, to keep their strategies always shifting, in order to compensate. Going to SCWC gives you the cutting-edge tools to do that. The panels and workshops include subjects that span the world of today's publishing. Check out the schedule here.
Hope to see you there...
hasta pronto!

The Pros and Cons of Freelancing

 I am updating and re-posting this piece from a couple of years ago, since a new acquaintance recently mentioned how "fun" it must be to work for myself.

When I tell people that I'm a freelance editor, people always say "How cool—that must be fun!" and of course, it is—but, like most everything in life, there are good and not-so-good points about working for yourself...
Most all authors are freelancers, even if they have a "day job" because they are not usually getting paid to write (not as they write, that is—hopefully, they do get paid, but usually months or even years later).

Here are just a few of the Pros and Cons of Freelancing:

Pro: You make your own schedule (plenty of time to read).
Con: You can easily feel guilty if you are not working (never enough time to read for FUN).
Pro: You're your own boss (no one to tell you what to do).
Con: You have to motivate yourself—and on some (sunny) days that is really difficult to do.
Pro: You set your own rates and can ask for what you feel your skills are truly worth.
Con: You don't get a weekly paycheck. (Sometimes more than a few weeks go by!)
Pro: You can work from home (in your pajamas, even; I don't because I feel better when I am "dressed for work")
Con: Your home is your office and your job never really stops.
Pro: Your job is your life and it's fun!

Feel free to add to the list—I'd love to hear from you.
hasta pronto!